True to Boston form, the Celtics shafted the Raptors yet again; this time by losing to the Bulls after taking a 1 point lead into the 4th. It’s literally come down to the last game of the year for the Raptors, sort of:

• If the Raptors win, and the Bulls lose, Toronto’s in
• If the Raptors win, and the Bulls win, Toronto’s out
• If the Raptors lose, and the Bulls lose, Toronto’s out
• If the Raptors lose, and the Bulls win, Toronto’s out

You look back over the course of the season, and start to cringe at some of the losses the Raptors had that weren’t taken seriously at the time: Washington, Indiana (twice), Philadelphia, Sacramento, and Golden State (twice). You win any of those 7 games, and this thing is over. So when we were crying bloody murder after these losses, there was a method to the madness (and not just our pride being hurt).

The fact of the matter is the Raptors don’t deserve to make the playoffs. When you look back on the season, they always came short when the pressure was on, and only got to 5th in the east by taking advantage of a weak schedule. When the chips were stacked against them, they rarely stepped up. And even after dogging so much of the season, they are literally one game from making the playoffs. It’s amazing and upsetting at the same time.

Tonight we get the Knicks, a team that the Raptors have owned over the last three seasons, going 8-3 over that span. At the best of times, the Knicks are a shell of a team, on this last game of the season though, I’m expecting a bit more. Al Harrington and Tracy McGrady (questionable) will probably miss the game, meaning the Knicks should be better off – no one to take ill-advised 3′s while the offense is setting up.

David Lee has been a Raptor killer with Bosh in the lineup, averaging 25.7pts and 16.7rebs. Without Bosh, it will be a task by committee. Turkoglu has stepped up his rebounding as of late, and I fully expect Amir to return to his rebounding ways now that Detroit has been dispatched; which only leaves Bargnani.

If he drops 30, I don’t think I will care how many boards he grabs, but he needs to drop 30, end of discussion. If not, the Knicks have this guy called Earl Barron, who seems to be grabbing a great deal of rebounds (11.7) since joining the team, and who could sway things to the Knicks favour if he goes unnoticed and unchecked. That’s about all there is to be worried about, they have a couple youngin’s who can ball, but Duhon is leading the charge, forgive me if I’m not worried.

On the Bulls side of things, they’re in Charlotte to face a Bobcats team that is 31-9 at home. Larry Brown said that they owe it to basketball to compete hard and not roll over for the Bulls. How long that lasts remains to be seen considering the Bobcats have nothing to gain or lose with this game in terms of playoff position (it’s always better to win than lose in the grand scheme of things though). You have to figure D’Antoni is in the same boat as Brown.

Really, that’s all there is to it. The Raptors have to win this game, and they need to get dirty to do it, since the Knicks have nothing else going on but to c*ck-block us from getting into the playoffs.

Usually I’m pretty good at sticking through the whole game but I had to turn this one off early in the fourth when Jack Armstrong started talking about how Leo was a “phenomenal passer” back in his day. No. Stop right there. Hy’s Steakhouse is phenomenal. The Rail is phenomenal. Jimi Hendrix is phenomenal. Leo Rautins, just like the Raptors, is not phenomenal.

The first paragraph of the post-game post usually succinctly summarizes the game and gives the reader the option to “Read More” if it piques their interest. I’m abandoning that routine today and plugging Twitter and the RR March Madness pool. If you care to read about this “game” (I’m reluctant to call it that because by definition its an event where two sides compete, not where one lays down and the other rolls over them), do so at the risk of learning nothing new.

The Bobcats were mired in a three game losing streak after winning six in a row and were 1.5 game out of the final playoff spot coming into this one. They knew a shoddy NBA unit was coming into their building and there was no excuse for them to drop this one. They came out and took care of business in the exact opposite way we “took care” of Milwaukee at home without Michael Redd. Remember that? That Milwaukee game to me was the season in a nutshell, we had won three in a row and had a chance to match the longest winning streak of the season but we ended up getting embarrassed by Charlie V and went on to lose 6 straight. It wasn’t a “must win” per say but a loss in such a game spoke volumes about a team’s resolve and desire. Last night the Bobcats took care of us the way we should’ve taken care of Milwaukee. They are a talented and focused bunch that enjoys playing with each other and have a goal to strive for, we are playing out the season in our division rivals’ uniforms.

I have to talk about the conditioning factor again because we appeared spent after the first quarter. We came out with good defensive energy to start the game and got the break going after some solid shot-contests by Bargnani on Okafor. Marion and Parker hooked each other up on the leakouts and Jose got us into the sets early. Parker hit a patented jumper, Bosh had a purposeful hook shot and Bargnani was giving Okafor something to think about on defense. I thought Bargnani could’ve done more on offense, he’s gotten much better at ball-faking on the perimeter and the defender usually goes for it as did Okafor. However, Bargnani ends up giving the advantage right back by passing the ball off as the defender’s being faked out, or he’ll take two dribbles in when he could’ve taken six. He’s obviously improved from last year but the next area to develop in his game is better decision making off the perimeter ball-fake. Considering how the Bobcats have had trouble with his type he could’ve had more than 13/6.

Jose Calderon picked up his second foul in the first quarter and it didn’t appear to be a big deal at the time since he wasn’t giving us much against Felton. To his credit, he did try to attack more but got sealed off on a couple occasions and then got called for a charge and another turnover. Roko got the call and he was terrible. Absolutely horrific. He needs to tighten his handle to the point where he doesn’t have to look down when switching hands and is confident enough to tempt the defender to reach so he can pull back the dribble and gain an advantage by driving. It’s a simple thing but he doesn’t/can’t do it. He came in at the 7:56 mark of the first quarter with a four point lead and left at the 4:11. In that stretch the Raptors had 7 turnovers (23 for the game) and gave up an 11-2 run. The Bobcats were trapping him early and he looked very uncomfortable running the offense; in fairness to him every other Raptor was equally clumsy. Roko didn’t see the light of day till the 2 minute mark of the third quarter when this game was essentially out of reach.

Bosh also picked up his second foul but I don’t think it really mattered. Pops was doing a good job of being a presence in the paint and it wasn’t like was Okafor was killing us. We didn’t have an answer for Gerald Wallace’s slashing, D.J Augustin’s outside shooting and dribble-penetration and Boris Diaw’s slithery ways of getting to the rim which all ended up resulting in a 52-32 point in the paint edge, a stat that most teams take as meaning inside domination but we take it as meaning getting beat off the dribble. Wallace was giving us a good idea of what we missed when we decided not to trade him straight up for T.J Ford, a trade that in hindsight would’ve been ideal for us. He was passing up wide-open perimeter shots given to him by Marion and Graham by opting to drive instead. D.J Augustin hit a couple big threes on a sagging Jose Calderon in the second quarter off of great ball movement, something the Bobcats did all night while racking up 32 assists on 44 made shots.

Shawn Marion’s defense was disappointing, he was losing track of Gerald Wallace way too easily and allowing him to gain an advantage with a first step which isn’t even that quick to begin with. Joey wasn’t much better at defending Wallace leading me to believe there wasn’t a plan in place for the Bobcats’ best scorer. But hey, coming up with plans is hard work and I don’t think anybody on the Raptors (including the coaching staff) is familiar with that concept. Or if they are they let it go a couple months back. Here’s a Shawn Marion quote:

Sometimes we just feel like we’re just there and we’re not just there. It’s hurting. I hate losing. It’s frustrating for me.

He may as well add:

I’m a pretty good player if I’m in a system that’s tailored to my style of play and I don’t see the Raptors as that team. I know I’m going to have to take a pay cut this summer because of my lack of production in the last couple years and unless you’re going to overpay me, I’ll go find a sunny weather spot with a team that’s looking in the same direction as me. I do like the city, I hope it all works out for you guys. Hey, maybe Marcus can show you a little something something. You never know, right? Naaaaah….we both know Marcus sucks. Seriously though, take care.

Other than the first few minutes of the first and third quarters the effort was questionable, but at this point I don’t know how much of that has to do with conditioning. Sure, you’re playing on the second night of a back-to-back but you got three days off coming up and you can’t tell me they couldn’t find an extra gear? Then again, what the hell is there to play for other than personal pride of which these guys have very little. Except Jose, as much as I criticize him I do believe the guy feels the losses more than anyone on that team. I think he’s trying his best to justify the contract but unfortunately for him, he’s just not been good enough. There’s no leader on this squad that can motivate or drive others into giving a committed effort despite the record. Bosh is supposed to be that guy but he can’t lead by example, doesn’t have a competitive nature and lacks the mental strength to carry and inspire his teammates through rough stretches. The fact that he can’t create his own shot and take over a game adds to the problem but I’ve learned not to expect or blame him for that. I’m not privy to what goes on in the dressing room but you have to wonder what kind of respect he commands in there.

The second and third quarter consisted entirely of the Bobcats spawning their beautiful unselfish swing sequences off of good high screen usage and individual dribble-penetration which forced the Raptors to collapse the paint and then recover out to shooters. We might’ve done a good job of recovering to the first shooter off the kick-out but once their swing sequence was in full effect our rotations needed to be accountable, crisp and followed by hard close-outs. That obviously hasn’t happened all season so no reason to expect that now. The Bobcats shot 49% for the game and got good shots whenever they wanted. After starting the third quarter on a 6-0 run to cut the lead to 7 and forcing Larry Brown to burn a timeout we conceded a 16-4 run which put the game to bed.

The Bobcats played some great defense in holding us to 38% shooting which included 3-16 from downtown. They neutralized the pick ‘n roll by switching hard, didn’t allow Calderon to turn the corner early in the game and didn’t need to double Bosh to slow him down. They boxed out Pops on the defensive glass and even the much-maligned Wallace put Marion on his back on a few occasions. Ex-Bobcat Kapono and Parker were held in close check by Raja Bell who always encouraged the contested shot which we so willingly take. On one crucial third quarter possession when the wheels were coming off they forced a shot-clock violation by playing Bosh tight, he lost the dribble and was forced beyond the three-point line with two seconds on the clock. Not demonstrating the highest basketball IQ, Bosh chose to pass it to Joey who was covered tightly on the elbow with a second left instead of heaving a three-pointer. It’s one small play that speaks of court presence.

I thoroughly enjoyed watching the Bobcats play, they reminded me of the 2006-07 edition of the Raptors which had two pretty good point guards, great ball movement and good enough outside shooting to free up an average post-player. I do hope they catch Milwaukee for that final spot, that franchise has sucked long enough and their recent good moves need to be rewarded. To give an example of specific coaching, the Bobcats spent extra time at a shootaround on Monday going over the “principles” of guarding pick-and-rolls which also included a video session. This extra coaching was deemed necessary by Larry Brown because they allowed Minnesota to shoot 53% from the field. You think the Raptors coaching staff is this serious about giving up high percentages?

The lead entering the fourth quarter was 89-72 which meant it was garbage time. And since we’re all gentlemen, we don’t talk about garbage time.

Liners:

• I put up the Bobcats bench picture up partially because the Raptors bench laughing against Indiana rubbed me the wrong way. Does a team that just snapped a 7-game losing streak at home really get to celebrate that much? I’m all for patting oneself on the back but do it when you accomplish something more than avoiding a season-high losing streak. If there was a true leader on this team he’d keep those things in check.
• We’re 1-28 when we allow the opposition to shoot 48% or higher. Makes sense, our offense isn’t good enough to compensate for that kind of defense.
• We currently have the 8th pick. If we can just figure out a way to be more crappy there’s no reason why we can’t get the 6th or maybe even the 5th pick. We have 24 wins, Golden State has 23, Minny as 20 and OKC has 19. If we shut Bosh, Calderon and Marion down for the year there’s every reason to think we can “catch” OKC. Complete NBA standings.
• 44 personal fouls in this one and if it weren’t for the Raptors going 29-36 it would’ve been even uglier.
• Pops was compared to Wendel Clark by Matt Devlin.
• Jason Kapono smiled after his first made shot of the game cut the lead to 16 in the third quarter. He is a fraud and should be jailed for conning Bryan Colangelo.
• Patrick O’Bryant is half Irish, half terrible.
• The combination of Parker, Calderon and Ukic had 13 assists and 11 turnovers. They shot a combined 6-20 (30%). I’d like to put some heat on Bosh but he had as much support last night as AltRaps when he’s trying to convince me to hit the Rail on a Tuesday. In a game where everybody played like crap, he doesn’t deserve additional feces thrown at him.
• Officially, Marcus Banks stayed in Toronto to have his toe examined. In reality, he couldn’t afford to miss 24.

Thanks for reading and don’t go anywhere without checking the very sexy Roll Call. Hang in there, just 14 more games left, it’ll all soon be over.

For starters, I’d like to revisit a couple of ideas that I have been writing about for the last month and change over at raptorstalk.com In particular, I’d like to share with you my thoughts on the firing of Sam Mitchell, which seem even more true today than they did on December 4th when I first wrote this piece.

…is Colangelo the right guy to right this ship.

http://www.raptorstalk.com/2008/12/04/you-are-running-out-of-chips-mr-colangelo/

You are running out of chips Mr. Colangelo OR Why Firing Sam Mitchell only buys the Raptors more time to make less moves.

I give Rob Babcock credit, he may have been a horrible GM, but at least he had the “cahones” to admit he made a mistake AND then set about fixing the problem immediately. One disaster ridden season after hiring Kevin O’Neil as the Raps head coach, Babcock fired him and admitted he hired the wrong guy. Less than 6 months later after he was proven wrong again in hiring Sam Mitchell (whom he hired to be “tough on Carter” and was rumored to have fought Carter in the dressing room). He sent Vince Carter to New Jersey in a trade that still makes Raptors fans cringe. The trade may not have been great, but at least Babcock was trying to fix his mistakes. He traded Rafer Alston to Houston for Mike James only 1 year into a 5 year contract, and even apologized publicly for drafting Rafael Araujo. Mr. Colangelo its time for you to own up. Ya, that’s right, I said it.

You see, the real reason the Raps have their hands tied at the moment is because Colangelo is having trouble admitting that everything he touches isn’t gold. Yes, in part, his trading away of TJ last spring was an admission that he made a mistake in acquiring him in a swap with the Bucks two years back for Charlie Villanueva – but not really. Actually, Colangelo’s hand was forced and his response came much too late. Had Colangelo been more active and humble, he would have dealt TJ as soon as it was apparent that Calderon could play at an all star level OR dealt Calderon as soon as TJ returned. After all, look what NJ got for J-Kidd last year at the trade deadline – yup, that’s right, Devin Harris + picks! Instead, Colangelo was continually cocky in addressing the media about the issue by insisting that their “2 guard rotation” was the envy of the league.

He allowed the controversy to not only emerge, but grow, and fester, until it ultimately divided and destroyed this team’s chance of making any type of run in the playoffs. And then, come the summertime, teams knew that Colangelo had to move one of the PGs and the only choices on the market for fair value included players like JO and Gerard Wallace. Now don’t get me wrong, I like the JO deal and I have endorsed it from day one, but in tying up 21 million this year and 23 million next year in JO, Colangelo has tied his hands to making other moves, especially because he felt compelled to include a #1 pick in the deal when there were at least 5 potential swingmen on the board at #17 who may have been able to help the Raps this season.

Colangelo’s second biggest mistake (and another one that up until today he was unwilling to move on) was the 4 year extension he gave Sam Mitchell. Yes, it was not Colangelo who brought Mitchell to Toronto BUT it was Colangelo who gave him a contract extension. He didn’t need to re-sign Mitchell. Remember, when Colangelo took over in January if 2006, Mitchell was coaching a team that ended the 05-06 season 27 and 55 that’s almost 30 games under .500. But at the time it appeared that he held onto Sam Mitchell to hold as a scapegoat so that if the roster did not look stronger in his first year of GM he could simply fire Mitchell and move on. And boy did that plan backfire. Instead, Mitchell led the Raptors in 2006-2007 to a 47 win season and even won Coach of the Year BUT and here’s the BUT – his contract had expired and even though Sam was the reigning COY, no one would have balked if Colangelo had come forward and said that he wanted his “own guy” in there.

Instead he re-signed Sam to a 4 year contract and at that point Mitchell became Colangelo’s guy and he was committed to him – even when the team started off 2007-08 poorly (1-4), or when Bargnani appeared to take a step back in his second year, or when they got embarrassed at the hands of Orlando in a first round match-up they should have won a year after being exploited by NJ. Time and time again, Colangelo stood back and let “the process” play out as he backed his guy and as top notch coaches like Stan Van Gundy, Larry Brown, Jim O’Brien, Scott Skiles, and even Mike Dantoni took their services elsewhere.

And this is why the timing of the firing seems strange. After all, if he didn’t fire Mitchell after the embarrassing loss to Boston on home court that saw the team fall one game under .500 and to 12th in the East only days after Carter humiliated this team in overtime against NJ, then why would you fire him in the middle of a west coast road trip less than ¼ of the way into this season? With an almost certain loss coming Friday night in Utah and the potential of up to 8 more losses before a truly winnable game on Dec 19th against Oklahoma., why wouldn’t you wait until after December when the schedule gets lighter and you could use the coach as a scapegoat for the teams play in December?

The potential reasoning for the firing may be that the 40 point loss in Denver was more than any respectable fan could take, especially when the coach’s response to it on the FAN 590 radio station this morning was very nonchalant when talking about the disgusting effort his team put up in allowing the Nuggets to shoot 60% – a feat that has been accomplished more than once this season against the Raps. Maybe bloggers on this site were right when they mentioned how Mitchell had lost the confidence of Bosh and the dressing room or perhaps the chance to get his hands on Eddie Jordan or PJ Carlesimo who were both recently fired appeared too lucrative to pass up?

But more likely than not, it appears that once again Colangelo’s hand was forced and against his own better judgment he had to publicly come forward and again admit that he was wrong. Lets face it, if he didn’t have to, Colangelo would not have fired Sam Mitchell. How else do you explain how Mitchell has lasted this long?

You see Colangelo had to fire Mitchell because he needed to make some changes here and everyone knows that, but unfortunately there is no real wiggle room for him to make any player movement. This is a roster that has some serious holes in it due to Colangelo mistakes. He miscalculated the importance of guys like Garbajosa and Delfino by letting them both walk and then not replacing either players’ grit, basketball IQ, defensive toughness, and versatility to play more than one position. And with no real trading partners out there and with the team too close to the cap to even pick up a player at the veterans minimum, the coach became the only viable choice for change.

When I started thinking about who this team could trade to get better, the list is very short, in fact its really only two names: Bosh and Bargnani. You see, AP and Joey Graham may be expiring contracts but they only total close to 7.5 million dollars, which isn’t enough to bring back a player of any significance (that is of course assuming that you could get an NBA GM drunk one night at a league party and then get him to play a game of Kevin McHale and trade you valuable players for garbage). While Kapono would be liked by many teams, he has 3 more years after this season at 6 million a year at a time when most teams are very hesitant to take on any contracts past 2010 unless they are players of real substance (and Kapono is a good 6th man but not a real power player).

Calderon could be a valuable trading chip but there are 2 problems here: first, is that it would require Colangelo admitting that he was wrong, which we know he is loathe to do..BUT the bigger problem is that he has a BYC contract, which means that if they were to trade him in the first year of his new contract they could only take back half of what he makes in contracts from another team – and that means he only has a trading value of 3.5 million and that just wont get it done. And since, Colangelo may get shot if he trades Bosh the only chip that remains is trading Bargnani…ouch! Think about how tough that would that be – to admit that taking Bargnani was the wrong choice with the #1 overall pick.

You see that’s what firing Mitchell was really all about. The team needed change and Bryan Colangelo only had two choices: fire Mitchell or deal Bargnani. And while firing Mitchell doesn’t solve any of the roster issues or make the players here any better, it does buy BC time, time to sit back and hope that “the really big 3” can get it going every night. Time to hope that JO can stay healthy. Time to hope that Joey Graham’s secret twin brother decides to show up every night (that is the third twin who no one knows about who has all the talent but suffers from an anxiety disorder so he only shows up for 1-2 games at a time whenever Joey or Stephen are in jeopardy of losing their jobs). But most importantly, time to hope that there is another answer to admitting that he was wrong because apparently BC doesn’t like to do that, even when it costs his team wins and chances to win a NBA title. Just ask Joe Johnson.

As always, standing in the key, I’m the Dr. I’ve got my feet planted and I’m planning on taking a charge!

phdsteve

Dramatic I know, but the chips are down, and these are the moments that separate the men from the boys. When everyone is healthy and the shots are falling, it is easy to win games. Unfortunately for the Raptors, nothing has come easy this season. Their early-season success aside (which wasn’t easy btw), they have fought tooth-n-nail for every win they got. The losses…not so much.O’Neal’s knee apparently is fine, swollen ankles seem to be more pressing at the moment. All he needs is some TLC. I’m sure Colangelo is on his knees, between his legs… praying to his Gucci-god for a quick recovery. The Raptors might be better served if he sits out the next two games, and comes back for the Lakers. At least against the Bobcats, I have to think sans O’Neal, the Raptors should be able to beat the Bobcats.

The key will be coming out motivated and possessed from the opening tip. Fortunately they have a few things to motivate them heading into the game:

1. The loss to Jersey
2. The loss to Boston
3. and Bosh…

I fully expect Bosh to come out like a man possessed. Would be very surprised if he didn’t put up a monster 1st quarter. Especially after his sucky-baby in-game antics against the Celtics. I understand where he’s coming from, frustration…we all get that way from time to time. But for Bosh to not go into a huddle (even though a whole lot doesn’t happen in the Raptors huddle), and do his own thing is…weak.

Can you imagine Kevin Garnett doing that? In fact, did Garnett ever do that during those horrible seasons in Minnesota? I can’t remember one instance. For crying out loud, Vince never even did that. Sure he would sulk during the game, but he never isolated himself during a timeout-huddle. Not what a leader does, which adds fuel to my fire that he isn’t the kind of player that a championship team is built around, he’s the Pippen, straight up. Desire to win is one thing, but loyalty to your teammates is crucial as a the team leader/franchise player. If he needs some assistance, I have the perfect idea for Mr. Bosh.

Forgive me, but at the time of writing this, neither the Raptors nor Bobcats starting lineups were published, with some interesting lineup possibilities for both teams, so I am going to break things down a bit differently:

Backcourt

Calderon / Parker vs. Augustin / Felton / Richardson
The Edge: Raptors – There was some talk about starting Augustin/Felton together, moving Richardson to 3, but regardless, we will see 2 of these 3 play the 1/2 for a big portion of the game. Probably the only bright spot for Larry Brown is his PG situation. Augustin and Felton have been playing great. Their shooting, penetration and distribution has been superb. The two of them were the cog in the engine that beat Philly two nights ago. Both these guys will give Calderon a run for his money. They are both quick, shoot the ball well and will penetrate at will on JC.

Cadleron and Parker have played well, but not great. Calderon is clearly banged up some, the degree of which is unknown at the moment. Parker on the other hand, not playing good at all. It hurts me to say it and it hurts you to hear it. Yes he has hit some big shots the last few games, maybe even clutch, but his missed free throw down the stretch cost the Raptors the game against Jersey. Allen LIT him up in the first quarter, and continued to get clean/open looks when he doubled off on the strong side. He did do a pretty good on Richardson last game, and should do a similar job this one. If matched up against one of the PGs, I expect he will probably defend them better. He’s the best wing defender the Raptors have, and is tall enough to keep them off the boards and quick enough to keep up with the young bucks off the bounce.

Frontcourt

Bosh / Bargnani / Humphries / *O’Neal vs Wallace / Okafur / Dudley
The Edge: Raptors – With our without O’Neal, the Raptors front court will own the Bobcats. The Bobcats are so desperate for some size, they are dangling Richardson to the Clippers for Kaman, doubt the Clippers bite. Bosh should have a monster double-double, Bargnani will have another solid game (maybe 20/8), and Hump should get some serious burn, maybe 23 minutes. I can live with his forced offense when he gets the ball, if he contributes rebounds, low post defense, and knocks someone on their ass.

Coaching

Mitchell vs Brown
The Edge: Bobcats – Say what you want about Brown, but the guy is an NBA champion, and one of the winningness coaches in the league. He outclasses Smitch in X’s & O’s, in game adjustments, strategy, wisdom and experience. The only thing Smitch has his number in is style and post-game entertainment.

Sadly, coaching alone can beat the Raptors. Lawrence Frank, though he has Carter and Harris, was able to divine a win with strategy, match-ups and a motivated Carter, which in itself is an accomplishment.

X-Factor(s)

Solomon, Kapono and Moon. These guys need to have good games. Uninspired comes to mind in describing their last few performances. I just have one piece of advice for Solomon: when you want to pass the ball, don’t jump. Simple really. No jump passes. Only Nash can do that, not you buddy. I can live with your offensive game if you just control yourself when running the offense. Nothing fancy, pass with two hands from your chest, makes things easier.

Kapono got zero shots last game. Zero. I can live with him forcing and missing a couple treys if it means he gets a shot off. He needs zero seconds to get a shot off, but I have to believe if I was in the NBA, I would get up more attempts. To his credit, he has a plan as to what to do about the recent funk:

Sadly, none of the  things he lists that need to be done are things he does, or shows a willingness to do. Hopefully he walks the walk now…

Moon on the other hand isn’t playing badly, just not like someone who is in a contract year. Normally the way he’s been cruising comes AFTER getting paid. Dude has cost himself a couple mill over the life of the contract. There is time for redemption, but I wont hold my breath. I just hope he doesn’t go for many of Wallace’s pump fakes in the block. Note to Moon: Wallace has hops too, you wont be able to swat every time, just stay in front of the dude and good things will happen.

Prediction

The Raptors. For all it’s worth, the Bobcats are a team managed by someone far more inept then the Raptors are, and don’t have any sort of semblage of a team that has any designs on post-season success. That being said, they have a bunch of players who can light it up, and win games against good teams (did you catch them grind out a win against the Sixers?). This is nothing more then a gut feeling, and my gut feelings have my Raptor predictions at 10-3 this season, but Raptors by 9 after leading by as many as 17.

Grab the Opening-Tip here.